THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 203 



Clypeus finely punctured, not rugose strigatus, Say. 



Clypeus coarsely punctured or wrinkled cognatus, Lee. 



AA. Posterior tibise without accessory spinule. 



Black, shining; form slender, elongate; head closely punctate, 

 clypeus broadly and feebly emarginate, elytral intervals con- 

 vex, abdomen coarsely punctate gracilis, Mels. 



The specimens referred to in the Canadian lists as A. stercorator, F., 

 are presumably strigatus, which was formerly placed as a synonym of 

 stercorator. I am not aware that cogjiaius has been found in Canada, but 

 as it is known from the adjoining regions and might easily be mixed with 

 strigatus, I have included it in the table. 



DiALYTES, Harold. 

 Small, dark-coloured insects, differing from Aphodius in having the 

 teeth of the outer margin of the anterior tibiae obsolete, except the apical 

 one. As all the known North American species are found in Canada, I 

 can do no better than to reproduce the table given by Dr. Horn, in his 

 Monograph of the Aphodiini inhabiting the U. S.* 



Intervals of elytra flat; clypeus not toothed truncatus, Mels. 



Intervals finely carinate, stria; catenulate ; clypeus with an acute 



tooth each side Ulkei, Horn. 



Intervals strongly elevated ; clypeus not toothed, thorax with deep 

 median impression striatulus, Say. 



Aphodius, lUiger. 



These are commonly found in dung, and are in fact our most numerous 

 scavengers. Several of them, such as A. fimetarius, a large species 

 with bright red elytra ; A.fossor, a large black species, and A. inquinatus, 

 which has a black thorax and variegated elytra, are well known to every 

 collector. Some of the Aphodii are very widely distributed, those 

 mentioned above, as well as granarius, our common little black species, 

 being found in both hemispheres. None of them construct balls for trans- 

 portation, but burrow in and under the dung, and the larvae go through 

 their transformations on the spot. I have taken pupae and perfectly 

 fresh imagines oi A. stercorosus under dry dung at the end of August, m 

 Iowa. 



From Atcenius, the genus Aphodius is separable by the outer apical 

 angle of the hind tibiae being obtuse instead of produced and spiniform. 



*Trans. Amer. Ento. Soc , XIV., 1887. 



